Sadly, I need to start this post with an apology: most of the events of this afternoon on the ship were in areas where I couldn't take photos either because I was in water or a movie. The end of this post will have plenty of photos though, so hold on! :)
After such a relaxing morning in the spa on the ship, my sister, mother, and I met up with the rest of the family to finally take a trip down the AquaDuck! My mother is not a fan of swimming or roller coasters, but much to our surprise, she was excited to take a ride. The first ride my sister, brother-in-law, and I took the kids while Mom watched out stuff. The water was CHILLY, and when we were in the open air areas of the slide, I was definitely cold, but that's the price you pay for an awesome water-coaster! The best part is that you circle the pool deck and have time to wave to your family on deck. I wish I'd had the camera with me to take photos!
The one negative to this water slide is that people seemed to keep falling off their rafts (usually children riding alone). When this happened, the water had to be turned off, and a CM had to walk through the slide to take the fallen rider by the hand and lead them out of the slide. This happened numerous times when we were near the ride, and it stalled the queue for about 10-15 minutes while we were waiting. Otherwise the queue moves fairly quickly.
After we rode, I was too cold to ride again, so Mom & LaRae took the kids once more. Randy and I stayed behind and had some ice cream. Near the pool there's yummy self-serve soft-serve ice cream! I wish I'd taken advantage of this perk more. I think every time Randy went somewhere to get something, he grabbed a banana ice cream cone though!
Cabanas is a buffet that's on the same deck as the pools and is very informal. It's open for all meals, and it is tasty! We opted to stay in our swimsuits and eat lunch there, and I didn't regret it. The best part about buffets on the cruise was the variety of foods. Yes, you can get cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, and fries, but you can also try a plethora of new, gourmet foods. My plates for buffets were always filled with a little of this and a little of that. I highly recommend trying out this place when you cruise.
One of the things I love about Disney vacations is that you always get the chance, either in the resorts or on the cruise ships, to watch Disney movies. Wreck-It Ralph had just been released in theaters when we set sail, so we got to see it in the Walt Disney Theater on board. It was a small audience for the 3D film, but there was something super neat about watching a newly-released movie on board a cruise ship! This movie as well as a few others like Lincoln showed multiple times a day throughout the cruise.
LaRae and I had been to Nassau on separate cruises in high school, and there was so much to do on board the ship that we didn't really want to get off to look around in port. Mom and Dad, however, wanted to see what the Bahamas had to offer. They went to the Straw Market while we watched the movie, but they said they weren't really impressed. Mom got a Nassau hoodie for $25 though, so that was a fun souvenir for her. I remember loving the Straw Market as a teenager. Maybe it's cooler when you're younger?
Our parents met us all at the evening show, Villains Tonight. I can't remember if both kids joined us. I think Katelyn stayed in the kids' club since she's not a big villains fan... or maybe she joined us after all. Perhaps my sister or brother-in-law can clear up that detail in the comments. I enjoyed the show, but it wasn't The Golden Mickeys from the night before. They added quite a few non-movie songs into the show, so we weren't able to sing along like the night before. However, the show featured Yzma & Kronk in parts of it, and The Emperor's New Groove is one of my favorite Disney movies, so that made up for the new songs a bit.
After the show, we had a little while until dinner. I wanted to explore the Dream some, so Mom and Dad joined me. We looked around in the adult areas of the ship and visited the Pink lounge. The art gallery on board was a great space to spend some time in since it's similar to my favorite in Park stores: the Art of Disney.
Some of these photos are blurry, but I liked them, so please forgive my amateur photography skills.
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| We took some photos near the main chandelier in the entry area. |
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| Isn't it a gorgeous piece of art? This is my father & I. |
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| Photos for everyone! I get to see my mom for my 30th birthday which is tomorrow! She'll be here tonight! Can't wait! |
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| Hidden Mickey on the chandelier |
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| Messing around on the way to Pink |
Our visit to Pink was fun! My parents don't drink, so I did not get champagne while I was there, but I got some another night. The lounge is set up to feel like you're inside a champagne bottle, so there are bubbles everywhere and dim champagne tinted lights. I took quite a few photos with flash because I needed a tripod to get good flash-less photos. However, don't get upset with me: there were no other patrons there with us, so I didn't disturb anyone. :) The bartender was a polite young woman from Europe, and my parents carried on a nice conversation with her while I was taking photos. They asked her lots of questions about working on the ship and where she lived. She was happy to chat with them.
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| This is Disney's signature Tattinger Prestige Rose Champagne. It was sweet but not too sweet (when I got a glass later). |
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| Yay for pink bubble! |
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| I read that this is supposed to give the impression of cascading champagne. I dig it. ;-) |
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| More of the lounge |
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| I'm telling you, no matter where you were on the ship, the light fixtures were all gorgeous! Love the details of the Dream! |
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| A menu |
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| My parents in one area of the lounge - I like how this area is spherical in shape. |
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| I could really go for a bottle of this right now! |
After we left the lounge, my parents wanted to stop in the nearby restrooms. I amused myself by attempting to take selfies with the DSLR. Obviously it proved to be a bit more of a challenge than the oh so flattering iPhone selfies I usually take. ;-)
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| Blurry but look - I flat ironed my hair, and it needed documentation! :) |
They both came out at different times, but they both said the exact same thing when they approached me, "Joanna! You've got to go in the bathrooms! You're going to love them!" Side note: when I was a kid and we visited new places, I drove my mom crazy by always needing to go to the bathroom. It wasn't that I had to potty, it was that I wanted to see the bathroom. No idea why... but this proved to be the coolest one yet! Thank goodness I was in there alone because for the first time EVER, I couldn't help but photograph the bathroom!
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| That's right, y'all! Everything in this bathroom was round! It was a thing of beauty! I think all bathrooms should be built like this! |
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| I didn't need to "go", but I couldn't help but go in the stall and shut the door which completed the cylindrical stall perfectly. Then I looked up and, y'all, the ceiling was a mirror! I have about 6 shots like this that I refuse to delete. It was freaking cool! |
Another side note: this was the ONLY public bathroom I went in on the ship. I didn't have anything against them, I just never needed one. My brother-in-law later mentioned the signs in the bathrooms about not touching the door handle with bare hands due to the cruise ship virus thing that has been passing through ships like wildfire in some cases. After hearing that, I was thankful I didn't need the restrooms... haha!
On the way to dinner in the Royal Palace, we went out on a random deck and found it deserted. If it were warm, this would be a perfect place to relax. As it was, it was very cold and windy because we had left Nassau and were really cruising along at this point!
We'll stop here, but come back on Monday to get a photo tour of our meal at the Royal Palace. It was Pirate Night too, so you'll get to see fireworks at sea!
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